Getting Started

When I first started Slimming World I was not sure where to begin. We had our talk through with our consultant but there was a lot of information to take in.

We stayed at the group and listened to the IMAGE Therapy. The group were really positive and shared a lot of ideas, not that those ideas meant a huge amount at the time.

As someone who has felt a little clueless at the beginning, here are my top tips for a newbie.

To get started; remember the recipes you make all the time. Spaghetti bolognese, pie and chips, bangers and mash whatever your go to recipes are, find the SW way of making those things. They won't feel as scary to master and will become your new staples moving forward for those days when you really just want something easy to do.

Get a good wok and frying pan. My Tefal ones have been invaluable. Not only do you not need to use oil (very highly synful) or even fry light (syn free) but they clean very easily and are effortless to use. Lots of SW recipes mean you will use them so it is worth investing in a good set.

Scan through your book and find things you like now, you have plenty of time to experiment with new things.

Make sure you use your syns! They are there to be had. if you have 15 to use, use them you will still lose weight.

Find free things you can grab on the go or use for convenience, it is likely that you will drop these sooner or later. Although they are free items too much convenience food isn't great for you.

Enjoy it! Yes it is re-learning about food, but you will get there. Give yourself time. Remember it took the age you are now to get to the weight you are now, don't expect to get to target in 1 week.

Its the start of a new life. Live it!

Getting Slimmer

Please note that this is not a sponsored ad or post or anything like that. I am not a spokesperson nor am being paid for this. I have just noted that this is a plan that works for me so I thought I would share it with anyone who wants to read about it.

Getting Slimmer

Well this year has been devoted to getting slim.

I started November 2014 as a size 24 and 19st 13lbs. As at 2 February 2015 I am getting into a size 20 trouser and I weigh 18 st 4lbs - 23lbs off! How did I do that? Eating food. That's it. No gimmicks, no measuring, no mucking about, just following the plan that has existed for....ever. More fruit and veg, trim the fat off the meat, careful with the processed food and treat yourself. Yes that's right mandatory chocolate! WHAT! How is that possible?

I have tried a couple of diets before but nothing worked because they were not 'real' and sustainable for more than a couple of weeks. There is no way an average person is meant to eat 400 calories for two days per week then whatever they feel like for the rest of the time. Eating only reduced fat this and low calorie that, if its over 5% fat don't even think about it. Or drinking milkshakes most of the day or measuring everything they eat and feeling guilty if they so much as look at a piece of chocolate. Now I eat a full mixture of carbs, protein, fat and sugar.

I chose Slimming World to try and reduce my weight and fat content from looking online to see what it was all about.  I went onto their website to find my closest group and decided to take the plunge. My group is based within 10 minutes walk from my house so it is easy to get to and even with the recent temperatures of only 2 degrees there is really no excuse not to walk. When I first arrived I was nervous and didn't really know what to expect.

We were met by the group leader Alison who asked us to sit at the table so she could explain the basics of the plan. Admittedly I wasn't fully sure what the plan was all about. I sat with the group and heard their stories about how the week went and rounds of applause all round. When they had finished and the group section ended I got weighed by Alison to find out what i had been putting off finding out for a very long time. Yep 19st 13lbs. Well at least it didn't start with a 2 I thought. She asked me what I would like to lose as a first target. i chose 10% of my body weight as the ideal weight loss for me is ultimately over 8st which is too high a goal to begin with. Alison agreed and that was that. I was on the plan. I walked home not really certain of how I was going to tackle this. I was met with lots of reading when I got home to find out what this was all about.

After a couple of hours I got the gist but it wasn't really until a week later that I felt I knew what I was doing. The next time I went I was greeted by friendly people with smiles and a genuine feeling of interest in how I am, how my week has been and whether I have any tips from my first week.

I can honestly say that this is the welcome I have received ever since.

In future blogs I will describe my tips for a newbie to slimming world, add clips to some of my favourite recipes and keep you updated with how I'm getting on.  

Thanks

AskTheMrs

Harry Potter Fan

I am a huge movie freak and I will write some details of my favourites in this blog.

Its my birthday next weekend and my gorgeous husband is taking me to Harry Potter World just outside London. I am so excited.

In a change for me I read the books before seeing the films. The books 'grew up' along with Harry and friend growing up. I loved reading the books and I believe the films have been very faithful to the books, with some small changes that don't detract from the story.

We have been catching up with the films before we go to Harry Potter World and we cannot believe the number of amazing movie stars that are in this film.

Maggie Smith
Alan Rickman
Robbie Coltrane
Richard Harris
Michael Gambon
Ralph Feinnes
Emma Thompson
Imelda Staunton
Jim Broadbent
Gary Oldman
Julie Walters
Mark Williams
Richard Griffiths
John Hurt

.......To name a few

I love the series and I cannot wait to see the film sets and feel a small part of what it would feel like to be one of those kids who grew up surrounded by such giants of cinema.

I will write a review when I come back

New venture - Menswear

I am a big believer in spontaneity but I think my actions of last week blow that out of the water.

I saw an advert for a bridal shop that was closing down and decided to buy all of the men's wear for a substantial amount of money. Completely spur of the moment with the idea of selling them on for a profit. The numbers stack up so it should be a no brainer.

I was in regular contact with the seller and once the final price was negotiated (£400 off!) I hit the Buy It Now button. My heart was in my mouth. What have I just done?!? I sat thinking what am I going to do with all of this stuff? The seller informed me that the total consignment of packages came to 15 in total and they would be with me by Saturday at the latest.

Imagine my surprise when I get home on Friday and 15 minutes later the disgruntled looking delivery driver says to me 'Are you expecting 15 boxes?'. 'Yes' I replied sounding chipper and a little naive.He strode off back to the van the opened it. There were my 15 boxes. They were HUGE! One by one the delivery driver brought them to the house and I was getting more and more worried about what I had done. there was just so much stuff! When all of the boxes were in the house and I had signed my free time for the next few weeks away, I took a photo and sent it to my husband. I cannot publish his reply.  

I am a week in and I haven't sold a single thing!

My time over the last week (when not at work in my full time job or sleeping) has been to catalogue all of the stock (still not completely done) and get some adverts on the web. Luckily I have some experience in selling things so the free sites are not new to me. I have set up a Facebook page and new accounts on Gumtree and Preloved.co.uk to try and get some interest. Fingers crossed this goes well otherwise I will be back on eBay with a large amount of job lots for sale.

My husband has been really patient with me and has even built me a cloths rail for me to hang the stock onto. Hasn't he done well!

My life will now be dedicated to advertising my stock of ex-hire men's wear to anywhere that will take it. If you live in Dorset, England and are in need of a suit, check out my new Facebook page.

www.facebook.com/AskTheMrsNow

Flowers - Don't be lazy

There was an article in the Daily Mail today to say that Marks and Spencer will be doing wedding bouquets and others for a saving of £200. My flowers didn't cost £200 in total. I went to a local supplier who was recommended to me by the company I booked my wedding car with.

Simply Flower were wonderful. Maria did a fantastic job, she took my initial ideas, looked at my scrap book and ran with it. I knew I wanted gerberas and for them to be surrounded by large leaves. Maria suggested bright colours because of the colour of my bridesmaid dresses vibrant blue) and that it would be a joy to work with colour for a change ivory does look classic but it is a bit dull to work with over and over again. She sat silent for a few minutes worked out in her mind what she would like to do based on my brief. SHe came back to life and showed me a sketch. I was blown away by her imagination and creativity and added some touches I didnt know was possible. Then we moved on to the button holes for the men. These were on the same theme as my bouquet so these were very simple. Then we came to the mothers coursages. My mum wanted something different entirely. Maria was able to fine something perfect as well as advised on how to fit it to her jacket without pins.

Maria arrived exactly when she said she would on the day. She gave my mum some instructions on how to deal with the flowers and left us in peace to work on the table arrangements at the hotel. I came downstairs in full dress and got my first glimps of the beautiful flowers. I was astonished, they were more beautiful than I thought they would be and smelled wonderful. They were a statement.

When we got to the hotel I looked around the room and she had done a lovely job in setting the table decorations. Again they were exactly as I had pictured. When we had the bridesmaids dresses taken up I gave the leftovers to Maria and she used them to mind the flowers together, keeping everything all together. Maria even went the extra mile and set out our wedding favours on the tables. She didn't have to do this, she said it was all part of the service.

Maria was initially a one woman business but now she has a contract for at least 3 local hotels and does many large table displays as well as many weddings through out the year.

I doubt Marks and Spencer will offer a personal service like that. You will get the same flowers anyone else will get like their cakes, yes they are cheaper than some cake shops, but do some research and look for local people. Keep the local businesses alive. You might find they are cheaper and can offer so much more of a service.

Getting Started

Lists are your friend!

I found it helpful to write down a list of things that were essential, important, would like and definitely don't want. These will help you make up your mind and will assist in focusing your mind when making important decisions. The wedding business is full of so many options on what to do, what to wear, how to look, the suppliers, venues, flowers, cakes that it is easy to lose track. 

I planned my whole wedding with my trusty scrapbook. Google Images is a fantastic source of information and inspiration and it is free! I searched for colours, venues, dresses, flowers and cakes using it and I was able to put together a scrapbook of the sorts of things I liked. When I visited my florist I showed her the scrapbook and she got a feel for my ideas for the whole wedding and knew visually what flowers and arrangements I liked and that made her job much easier. She was extremely creative and I was very impressed.  

I cannot emphasise enough the importance I found when planning our wedding the need to be open-minded. Most people have a general idea or picture of what they would like their wedding to 'look like'. They can see the sort of venue, the sort of cake, their dream dress etc etc. But let me tell you I was shocked at how many of my original ideas are not in the wedding photos I now have. 

For example, I always thought I would have a wedding dress with straps. Be they a halterneck or straps I was determined not to have a strapless dress. My ideas were like these:

But look at what I ended up with!

I am a firm believer that it is important to be adaptable and flexible with your ideas. However if you really are passionate about something you should go for it. I remember the first confirmed, non-negotiable item I decided on was the car. I was sitting on my mum's sofa while watching the BBC's Don't Tell The Bride, we were half watching half making plans and all of a sudden the chosen car came on the screen. I was instantly in love with it. I had to have that car. We immediately fired up the laptop and found a local car firm who had the same car. I booked it within days of seeing the program even though we hadn't decided on the venue yet!

Let me know if you would like me to write about a specific subject and I'll do my best to answer it.

Thanks for reading

Mrs O

Ask The Mrs: An Introduction

I have never written a blog or anything else of note before but when people talk about getting into writing (certainly for the first time) they are encouraged by others to write about something they know quite a bit about.

The inspiration behind "AskTheMrs" came from wanting to have a project for when we have children. It is a simple thing to do and something to do while off work. I also wanted to help others in some way. I have been toying with this idea for a while and it was while watching my daily vlog fix on youtube.com that I decided to just go for it.

So I have decided to write about a subject I know quite a lot about (and have fairly strong views on).

Weddings

I spent two years of my life almost entirely planning our wedding. This is a significant amount of time to devote to something and any study of a subject for two years will make you at least reasonably proficient at it. Weddings can be the most stressful and the most enjoyable event to ever plan for. There are so many things to consider and yet they can also be the most simple events ever. 

I know how daunting a wedding can seem to people and so I thought I would provide a voice as someone who has got married recently (2011) to give a modern perspective on what it is like to get married in the 'teenies'. In this blog I will be writing about my experiences, giving hints and tips on the things I learned in the two years I spent studying and planning for our big day and providing an opinion and guidance in what sorts of things to look out for. I will be sharing photos of the wedding and honeymoon which I hope will inspire you or at least give you a laugh.

I will be asking some of my friends who are in the business of Marriage to help and guest feature in the blog to get outside opinions on their field of expertise

Let me know if there is a particular subject you would like my opinion / advice on and I will do my best to answer as honestly as possible.

Thanks for reading

Mrs O